Apparatus for collecting oil from the surface of a body of water

ABSTRACT

Oil is collected from the surface of a body of water by immersing a tent-shaped collector just under the surface of the water. The wave action drives oil down below the tent, and the oil rising under the tent then collects in the peak of the tent whence it is conveyed upwardly by hydrostatic pressure through a conduit into a flexible collection receptacle. The apparatus may be dropped from an airplane by a parachute, in which case the collection receptacle itself can be the parachute. The apparatus is buoyant yet weighted to maintain an upright attitude and to position the tent at a desired depth.

United States Patent Daniel 451 June 6,1972

[72] Inventor: William H. Daniel, 541 Putman Rd.,

Rogers, Ark. 72756 [22] Filed: Oct. 13, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 80,350

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,534,858 10/1970 Harrington..210/DIG.21 3,500,841 3/1970 Logan ..210/DlG.2l

3,389,559 6/1968 Logan ..210/242 Primary Examiner-Reuben FriedmanAssistant Examiner-T. A. Granger Attorney-Young & Thompson 57] ABSTRACTOil is collected from the surface of a body of water by immersing atent-shaped collector just under the surface of the water. The waveaction drives oil down below the tent, and the oil rising under the tentthen collects in the peak of the tent whence it is conveyed upwardly byhydrostatic pressure through a conduit into a flexible collectionreceptacle. The upparatus may be dropped from an airplane by aparachute, in which case the collection receptacle itself can be theparachute. The apparatus is buoyant yet weighted to maintain an uprightattitude and to position the tent at a desired depth.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUH 5 I972 SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR.HDan/e/ PATENTEDJUH 6 I972 3,667, 609

SHEET 2 OF 2 1 INVENTOR.

W/l Uam H Dan/ e/ BY You/79+ Thompson ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR COLLECTINGOIL FROM THE SURFACE OF A BODY OF WATER The present invention relates toapparatus for collecting oil from the surface of a body of water, moreparticularly of the type in which oil spills are cleaned up by effectinga water-oil separation and removing the oil.

When oil spills on or in a body of water, it tends to fonn a large slickwhich is a more or less thin layer of oil floating on the water. Toclean up the oil slick, it is necessary to remove the oil from thesurface of the water, and this of course can be attempted in many ways.At present, removal by mechanical collection seems to be the mostfeasible method.

A number of proposals have been made, of ways to skim oil from water.These skimming procedures might work very well if the oil formed acontinuous flat layer of constant depth on a quiescent body of water.

In fact, however, the water on which oil slicks occur is often wavetossed and the oil is greatly agitated and mixed in with the water. Theoil tends to rise to the surface of the water, only to be tumbled underagain by successive waves. Thus, the actual situation often encounteredat the site of an oil slick is that the surface region of the water to asubstantial depth will consist of a highly agitated dispersion of oilglobules or pockets in water. Thus, the most effective skimmers devisedso far have been confronted with the serious problem that, under actualconditions, there is nothing to skim.

The present invention constitutes a radical departure from oil skimmingtechniques and operates according to principles never before used in thecollection of water from the surface of a body of water. In particular,far from being frustrated by the agitation of the oil-water mixture bythe waves, the present invention makes use of that agitation in order toperform the work necessary to drive oil a substantial distance beneaththe surface of the water. The hydrostatic pressure on the oil sunk tothat depth tends to force the oil back toward the surface, and thepresent invention makes use of this hydrostatic pressure to perform thework of separating the oil from the water and collecting the oil inseparated relation to the water.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideapparatus for collecting oil from the surface of a body of water, inwhich the work of collection is performed by the water itself and not bythe apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of such anapparatus, which operates well in rough water.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus which can be left unattended for long periods of time.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus, which will move with the oil slick.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of awave-operated pump for efiecting oil-water separations.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus which will be relatively simple and inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to emplace at the site of an oil slick, easy toretrieve and empty, and rugged and durable in use.

Briefly, and very broadly, according to the present invention, atent-like structure is immersed a short distance below the surface ofthe water. The wave action agitates the water and drives oil globulesand bodies beneath the tent-like structure. The oil rising in the tentseparates from the water and collects at the top of the tent, whence thehydrostatic pressure urges it upwardly through a conduit and intocontainer means in which the oil is collected and maintained separatefrom the body of the water.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from a consideration of the following description, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus according to thepresent invention, in its collapsed condition prior to airbornedelivery;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of apparatus according to the presentinvention, during airborne delivery;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the combined parachuteand oil receptacle in cross section;

FIG. 4 is a view of the apparatus in its closed position, showing themeans to open it upon airborne delivery;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of an uppercentral portion of the apparatus; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the apparatusin the water at the onset of oil collection.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shownapparatus according to the present invention, comprising an uprightstandard 1 having a float 3 encompassing its upper end for maintainingstandard 1 upright in the water and a set of fins 5 at its lower end forthe same purpose. Fins 5 also serve as weight means to improve thestability of the apparatus in the water, the apparatus neverthelessremaining buoyant. At its upper end, standard 1 also carries an eye 7for ease in handling and more particularly for ease in retrieval of theapparatus from the water upon completion of its oil-water separationfunction.

At the very heart of the present invention is a tent-like structure 9which for simplicity will be referred to hereinafter as a tent. Tent 9is in the form of an umbrella in the embodiment shown in the drawingsand has an inverted conical shape with its axis vertical and coincidentwith standard 1 and its apex uppermost. In general, however, tent 9 willhave side walls that converge upwardly toward, but which do notnecessarily reach, an apex. Thus, tent 9 can be conical as shown, orpyramidal, or polygonal in any of a variety of shapes and forms.

In the illustrated embodiment, tent 9 is comprised by a plurality ofribs 11, like umbrella ribs, secured to standard 1 at their upper endswithin a flange 13 at the bottom of float 3. Ribs 11 in turn are coveredby a flexible waterproof sheet 15 and are resilient and have a rest orundeformed position as shown in FIG. 6.

The operative position of the apparatus of the present invention in thewater is shown in FIG. 6. With tent 9 extended, the waves drive oilbeneath the surface of the water, and the oil rises under tent 9 andcollects at the top of tent 9 in the relatively quiescent body of liquidwithin tent 9. Hydrodynamic pressure, however, urges the oil back towardthe surface of the water, that is, upwardly; and the present inventionprovides means for conveying this upwardly urged oil to a collectionreceptacle.

Specifically, standard 1 is hollow above tent 9, and openings 17communicate between the upper underside of the apex of tent 9 and thehollow interior of standard 1. This hollow portion of standard 1comprises a conduit 19 that extends upwardly from openings 17 andterminates adjacent the upper end of standard 1 and that dischargesthrough openings 21 that communicate with the interior of a flexiblecontainer 23.

Container 23 is preferably circular in shape and is traversed centrallyby the upper end of standard 1 and is retained thereon in fluid-tightrelationship by means of a flanged fitting 25 that surrounds the upperend of standard 1 and against the flanges of which an annular flange 27bears which is carried by standard 1. A flange 29 bears against theupper side of container 23 and is screw-threadedly secured to the upperend of standard I, the eye 7 being screw-threadedly received at the endof this assembly and closing the end of conduit 19. The openings 21 passnot only through the upper end of standard 1, but also through thecylindrical side wall of fitting 25.

Container 23 is of flexible waterproof material that is not attacked byoil, and may for example be Neoprene-coated nylon or the like. In theillustrated embodiment, in which the apparatus is adapted for airbornedelivery, the container 23 also serves as a parachute to slow thedescent of the apparatus from an aircraft. To this end, container 23 isfitted with resilient ribs 31, which are connected at their outer endsby filaments 33 to the ends of ribs 11 of tent 9. The ribs 11, in turn,are held adjacent the sides of standard 1, and the tent 9 thusmaintained in collapsed position during descent of the airborneapparatus, by means of a strap 35 wound about ribs 11, the ends of strap35 being releasably secured together by means of any water-solubleadhesive, so that after the apparatus immerses, the ribs 11 will bereleased and tent 9 can o en under water. Actually, it need not beparticularly detrimental to the operation of the device if the ribs 11are open upon descent through the air; but it is preferred that they beclosed when the device strikes the water, so as to avoid translating thekinetic energy of the fall of the apparatus into a surge of water intocontainer 23.

In operation, container 23 is held closed by a shackle 37 as shown inFIG. 4, which is locked by a removable pin 39 secured to a rip cord 41.Cord 41 is secured at its other end to the aircraft in which theapparatus is stored; and when the aircraft is over the oil slick, thedevice of the present invention, and as many others like it as areneeded, are discharged from the aircraft. Rip cord 41 pulls pin 39 andshackle 37 springs open, releasing container 23 to act as a parachute asseen in FIGS. 2 and 3. After the device lands in the water, with theparts still in the FIGS. 2 and 3 position, strap 35 loosens and thedevice assumes the FIG. 6 position, the slack in the filaments 33permitting container 23 to assume a limp position on the surface of thewater. Oil driven down beneath tent 9 by the waves collects in the upperportion of tent 9 as explained above, and passes through openings 17 upthough conduit 19 and out through openings 21 into container 23, underthe hydrostatic pressure exerted by the water on the submerged oil.

If there is no oil under the apex of the tent 9, but only water, thenthe water does not tend to be forced into container 23, because there isno hydrostatic pressure to force water upwardly through water of thesame density. Thus it is substantially only the oil that is selectivelypumped upwardly, so that the oil-water separation performed by thedevice of the present invention tends to be very good.

When container 23 is as full as desired, or when the oil slick has beencompletely cleaned up, then the apparatus may be retrieved from thewater, for example from a boat by use of a boat hook through eye 7.Standard 1 is thus raised and container 23 tends to sag down belowopenings 21, so that no oil escapes. If desired, container 23 can beemptied into on-board containers by opening outlets 43 in what will nowbe the lowermost portion of container 23; alternatively, container 23may be rested on an annular support with standard 1 depending throughthe central opening thereof, whereupon openings 21 become lowermost andoil drains through openings 21, down through conduit 19 and out throughopenings 17.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will beevident that all of the initially recited objects of the presentinvention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated inconnection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood thatmodifications and variations may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readilyunderstand. Such modifcations and variations are considered to be withinthe purview and scope of the present invention as defined by theappended claims.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for collecting oil from the surface of a body of water,comprising a collapsible tent, weight means urging the tent toward aposition submerged a short distance beneath the surface of the water, aflexible receptacle above the tent for receiving oil that collects inthe upper portion of the tent, conduit means in the form of a hollowupright standard about which said tent is secured and to the upper endof which said flexible container is secured, said flexible containerbeing traversed at its center by said upright standard, said uprightstandard being hollow and having an inlet communicating with the upperinner portion of said tent and an outlet communicating with the interiorof said flexible container, and means imparting to said flexiblecontainer the shape of a parachute to permit airborne delivery of saidapparatus.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and means releasably holding saidcontainer in collapsed position against said standard for release ofsaid container to serve as a parachute upon airborne delivery. l

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and means for releasably holdingsaid tent in collapsed position against said standard.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, said releasable holding meanscomprising means responsive to immersion of the apparatus in water torelease said tent.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, said releasable holding meanscomprising means responsive to immersion of the apparatus in water torelease said tent.

1. Apparatus for collecting oil from the surface of a body of water,comprising a collapsible tent, weight means urging the tent toward aposition submerged a short distance beneath the surface of the water, aflexible receptacle above the tent for receiving oil that collects inthe upper portion of the tent, conduit means in the form of a hollowupright standard about which said tent is secured and to the upper endof which said flexible container is secured, said flexible containerbeing traversed at its center by said upright standard, said uprightstandard being hollow and having an inlet communicating with the upperinner portion of said tent and an outlet communicating with the interiorof said flexible container, and means imparting to said flexiblecontainer the shape of a parachute to permit airborne delivery of saidapparatus.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and means releasablyholding said container in collapsed position against said standard forrelease of said container to serve as a parachute upon airbornedelivery.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and means for releasablyholding said tent in collapsed position against said standard. 4.Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, said releasable holding meanscomprising means responsive to immersion of the apparatus in water torelease said tent.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, said releasableholding means comprising means responsive to immersion of the apparatusin water to release said tent.